Impact boll breaker



J. E. MITCHELL IMPACT BOLL BREAKER Filed March 21, 1931 June Z7, 1933.

` 35 Veyy dry 0r brittle.

Patented June 27, 1933 UNiTED STATES JOHN E'. MITCHELL, or DALLAS, i frEXAs IMPACT` BoLL BBEAKER Appneanon fue@ Mareh 21, 1931. seriai No. 5124,23?.

The general object of this invention is to provide novel apparatus, for breaking and opening bolls, the apparatus employed being located in the cotton-elevating conduit of a gin, which operates by suction induced therein to withdraw cotton from a suitable source of supply, such as a cotton-house, or wagons being unloaded, and to deliver to a distributor, which, in turn, delivers the cotton to the respective feeding mechanisms ofA a line of cotton cleaning and ginning machinery below. i

It has heretofore been customary to use a combination boll breaking and cleaning machine above the distributor, not only for the purpose of partially cleaning the cotton, but chiefly for opening the bolls to free enough of the cotton to permit uniform feeding to the cleaning machinery located below the i 2 feeding mechanism. All such machines are provided with a metal breaking shoe .cooperating with spikes or bars on a rotating cylinder, the bolls being caughtbetween the hard surfaces and crushed.

The chief objection to this boll crushing mechanism is that the grinding or crushing action resulting fromY forcing the bolls between the spikes or bars of the rotating cylinder and those on the stationary breaking '30 shoe, results in considerable shale being loosened and the hulls broken into small pieces, the amount of the trash caused by the action depending upon the character ofthe cotton, being greater, of course, when the bolls are Itis also obvious that when the concave or stationary shoe is set close enough to the rotating cylindery to catch the small bells, the` crushing action is especially severe on the -40 larger ones.

therewith, and of the bolls with the wall of i the housingof the wheel, and such action indicates a circular conduit ,having a pipe 2 'may be constructed in ,various ways, but as occurring without any substantial interruption of the passage of theseed cotton and bolls through the conduit. e

It should bestated that I yfind it desirable to use such boll breakingV means priorto ythe distribution of the mixed cotton and bolle to the cleaning machines, not because ythe boll breaking cylinders of these machines do not break the bells, but because the bolls doy not reach the `,cylinder `until after .they pass through theA feeding mechanism from the distributing conduit, and when tight'or closed bolls are handled,`they do' not feed uniformly. That is, they do not bridge properly across the space between thetwo conventional feed- 5 ing rollsY of thecleaning machines; `whereas when a sui'cient number of the bolls are opened to free enough of the cotton toincrease the bulk, the mass will bridge across the space between the feeding rolls ina waythat pero mits a more uniform supply or feed to the cleaning or ginning machinery below. 4 v The invention is illustratedin the accom.- panying drawing, in whichk they view illusy trates, partly in section, and partlyin elevation, an elevating conduit having my improved impact boll breakerv and opener v mounted therein. l Referring to thisy drawing, thenumeral l connected to one-end thereof by means of a flexible joint 3, and through which pipe and kconduit, suction is vadapted to be setup by means of al suction fan 4L suitably associated therewith, as hereinafter explained. Rotatably mounted at a suitable point in the length of the conduit is ymy improved impact wheel 5, having radial blades 6. The impact wheel shown it is formed of strips of metal conno `nected together to form a rectangular body portion 7 with the blades located at each corner thereof, the said body portion and blades extending between and being *conf nected to circular end plates 8. The impact `wheel is substantially ythe width of conduit l, 'and has a shaft 9 provided on one end with an'pulley l0 by means of which it may be rotated at a relatively high speed by means of a belt 11. The conduit l is provided on itsbottom side with a circular enlargement 12 which is located in close proximity to the lower half of the impact Wheel, and on its upper side is provided with a larger circular enlargement, or housing, 13, concentric with the periphery of the yimpact wheel, but located at a distance therefrom so as to provide a circular path 14 for the passage of the current of air around the upper half of the impact wheel. The shaft 9 of the `impact wheel is mounted insuitable bearingsl at opposite sides of the conduit; 1. and the* impact wheel is so positioned in the conduit that the lower side, 15, of the'conduit, eX- tending in ri ght linesbeyond oppositesides of the impact` wheel. is substantially in the plane of the axis of the latter.

In ordery toseparate the' air'from the cotton drawn through the conduit 1, there is provided between the impact wheel 5 and the exhaust fan 4 a casing 16, with which vthe conduit 1 communicates'at one side and in its upper portion. An air duct 17 extends from the suction side of the fan 4 to the opposite side of the casing 16, and communicates therewith at its lower end. yLocated within the casing 16 'is a curved screen 18, lthe upper end of which is connected with the inner wall of the casing 16, and itslower end toone side of a'housing 19, open at its top and bottom, and in which is mounted a. tlutter wheel 20, rotating in air tight connection with the opposite side walls of the housing 19,v and operating to discharge cotton from thecas- 'ing while` preventing the admission of air through said housing into the teasing.

The ,casing-16` with `'its screen and feed wheel, mounted in the airline as described, constitutes ya conventional exhauster,- or separator; that is, it provides a means for separating the air from the cotton. n f

Feed wheel Q0 has a shaft 21 suitably journaled in opposite sides of casing 16, on'one end of which is providedl a pulley 22, by means of which itl is ldriven from a belt 23, and a pulley 24, for receivingl belt 11, which drives the impact wheel 5. The exhaust fan is driven by means of a belt 25, the belts 23 and being in turn driven from a suitable source of power, not shown. y

While it is impossible to. illustrate the velocities ofthe bolls and air current through ythe conduit 1 with relation to each other and the bolls carried throughy the conduitfwith the air current, yand greater than the velocityy of the' air current.

`into engagement with the cotton in the Wagon, cotton-house, or other source of supply, vand such cotton is drawn by suction of fan 4 intov and through conduit 1. lVhen the boll cotton reaches the horizontal part of the conduit leading into the housing of the impact wheel, the bolls, either closed or partly opened, being, ot course, heavier than the cotton will slide along the bottom 15 of the conduit, so that as the air current changes its direction' around and 'over the impact wheel, the bolls are directed towardthe axis of the wheel and are inevitably caught by the blades in the upper half of their revolution andqthrown across the air current in the space 14. The speed at which the impact wheel revolves causes the bolls to be. thrown with great force against the wall of the enlargement 13,and due to the impact of the blades of the wheel with the bolls and, possibly, to a greater extent, of the impact of the bolls with thewall of said enlargement, the bolls will be broken open to free the cottion, "and this occurs without shaling orw breaking the hulls, and the work is performed in a very small space and with the expenditure of very little power, this latter result `being due to the fact that the bolls are acted upon while in a state of motion, and unf eonined, and no crushing or grinding action is exerted on them. Further, there is no difference in the breaking action as between large bolls and small bolls. The stream of opened bolls on leaving the housing of the m5 vimpact wheel, goes with the air to the separator. The air passing through the screen 18 goes to the exhaust fan 4, while the cotton and hulls are discharged from the separator bythe wheel 20. TIIO In the operation of my apparatus, it will be seen that the bolls are opened by the force of impact, Within an air line or conduit through which the lcotton is elevated, and

to the continuous movement through the conduit of the boll cotton drawn into the conduit :trom the source of supply. To accomplish the above, the impact wheel, which is made a substantially the same width as the conduit,` rotates at a speed that will move the tips of the blades forward in theV induced air current more rapidly than the current moves through the conduit under the action of the that this is done without any interruption 'm5 exhaust fan. In other words, the construe-i tion and operation of the device is such that a. stream of bolls will pass through the circular v space 14 around theL impact wheel almost, if not fully, as fast as it would move the same distance in a straight line if the i Wheel were not interposed in the length of the conduit. This speed of movement, or continuity of action, within the air line is essential by reason of the large amount of bolls that must be handled Within a given time. That is to say, the cotton for the entire ginning capacityof the plant must pass through conduit l, and it is obvious that any hindrance to the free movement of the boll cotton through the conduit would not onlyreduce capacity, but would soon clog up the conduit. This latter result would oc cur if the tip speed of the impact Wheel `were less than the air velocity, or were not greater than the velocity of the bolls carried through the conduit by the air current.

From the above, it will be readily seen that the construction is such that the bolls While being drawn through the conduit in a straight line will necessarily be directed into contact with the b-lades of the impact wheel; there are no expansion chambers, such as are usually employed, or other enlargement of the conduit, that would cause a portion of the stream to settle or accumulate; there are no obstructions in, or constrictions of the conduit or housing that would materially interfere with the free, rapid movement of the induced air current carrying the bolls through n the conduit; and the bolls vopened by the force of the impact with the blades therewith, or by impact of the bolls with the wall of the enlargement 14, will not be appreoiably checked or retarded in their movement through the conduit.

In combination with a rotary impact mem-v ber, a conduit extended at an angle therefrom with its bottom substantially in the plane of the axis of the rotary member, a housing forming a circular continuation of the con-A JOHN E. MITCHELL. 

